I've been looking a small teacup infuser for use at the office and finally chanced upon one. I was told that it was zhuni, but that was before i know what that meant.

That being said, it does retain heat very well, seems very solid and produces a high pitched 'ping' when struck, and doesn't seem to hold/absorb fragrances. It works well for me with High Mountain Oolong and Phoenix Dancong.

Any thoughts on if it really is zhuni or some other clay would be much appreciated. Don't recall seeing any zhuni cups/infusers on the forum, not sure if they even made them!

auhckw wrote:From largest (top) to smallest (down). Guestimates should be 220ml to 180ml. I will measure it next time.

Someone has to fill me in on this... Why is this size so popular in China/Taiwan? Is the average Yixing user there always drinking with multiple friends? Are they not pushing the tea to it's limits, but drinking in a much more relaxed style? Are they such fiends that they need to gongfu in something so big? Why are sub 100ml pots more difficult to find?

Got these today on 12/12/12 from 大茶树记 (dà chá shù jì) aka Tacha, a local teashop here in Malaysia that specialized in producing own teapots, selling first factory teapots, artist teapots and premium puerh.

auhckw wrote:From largest (top) to smallest (down). Guestimates should be 220ml to 180ml. I will measure it next time.

Someone has to fill me in on this... Why is this size so popular in China/Taiwan? Is the average Yixing user there always drinking with multiple friends? Are they not pushing the tea to it's limits, but drinking in a much more relaxed style? Are they such fiends that they need to gongfu in something so big? Why are sub 100ml pots more difficult to find?

Sub 100ml pots are useless as soon as you have more than one person.

My wife and I have had many great sessions with a 75 ml teapot. With old Tea or Yancha I think that pots under a hundred ml can work fine for up to three people. I will agree with your point for other teas though.

Last edited by gasninja on Dec 14th, '12, 21:12, edited 1 time in total.

auhckw wrote:From largest (top) to smallest (down). Guestimates should be 220ml to 180ml. I will measure it next time.

Someone has to fill me in on this... Why is this size so popular in China/Taiwan? Is the average Yixing user there always drinking with multiple friends? Are they not pushing the tea to it's limits, but drinking in a much more relaxed style? Are they such fiends that they need to gongfu in something so big? Why are sub 100ml pots more difficult to find?

In my experience, tea in Southeast Asia, Malaysia especially, China, and Korea is seen as much more social. Enough people drink tea regularly that it seems like drinking alone isn't as common.

Also, tea is not nearly so hard to find nor as expensive as it is in the West, so it isn't a such a big deal to push the tea to its limits in a larger pot. Some vendors will push to 20 infusions, but many vendors will drop tea after 5 or 7 (scandalous to me, when the tea still has life!!!). Also, the overall feel is usually more relaxed as I have experienced it. Taetea dealers seem to always use smaller pots (and subpar water, and subpar tea), but otherwise most dealers I interact with seem to use larger pots. Finding smaller pots out this way has actually been a significant challenge.

I haven't been to Taiwan, but I noticed that in Hong Kong, folks seemed to use generally smaller pots and cups than in other places, but in Yixing folks used larger pots and larger cups than most other places.

The social drinking thing, a ceremony like the Last Supper. But things change and so do human customs, so more <100mL pots and less of those big "boats." I have also started to value and enjoy more Xiao Pin pots. I want to get rid of some of the big pots I have which I don't use for that reason.